. >> i go back to what an ambassador from the middle east told me in year one about president obama. i thought he was extraordinarily moving at the state of the union. but said from the mistake they make, richard, i'm sure you heard this a lot. mistake they make at the white house in twine they blebelieve speech is the end instead of the speech the mean to get to the end. you start there. but you have to do the lyndon johnson, the george w. bush which is -- >> you think they are. the most salient fact in maureen's column is the person they are sending up to the hill is practically invisible. they think they are bending ears and doing politics but it's so ineffectual the result is what the result was. >> i've always had this saying when i was in congress and, mike, you'll remember the quote. from the great pitcher dizzy dean. it always help if you think the batter is a little dizzy. i always made sure when i went into a negotiation politically the other person knew i was going to die before i was going to lose. if it was something that was really important to me. i say i'm going to lo